need advice on getting a patent for some inventions,I have detailed drawings and invent tech or inventhelp(I cant remember which ,mabee both) were very interested but they wanted 98%,(I think it was )what should I do I started this a few years ago and found all my work by accident looking in my files for something else......any help would be greatly apprecated ....Thanks

I had a friend, many years ago, that patented some stuff and I remember him saying that a good patent attorney was a must. I don't know if things are the same as then but good luck and let us know what you find out.

Edit: I found this Gooberment Site that has lots of "clickable" information links that you might want to take a look at.

I have a few friends that tried for some patents, a few of them successfully. The first step is a patent search to see if there is a patent in place already. It's probably best to hire someone to do this, 20 years ago it was around a thousand dollars. And there are some searchers that are better than others. Some of my buddies searches took most of a year to perform. WATCH out for the companies that are too eager to help, lots of them want money up front to "help" them develop the idea. You are basically financing the project. for instance, a friend of mine designed a display case for his die cast car collection, it was very unique, he did get a patent. A company came along, he invested a few thousand into getting plans engineered, a few sample displays built, then they came up with sending the plans to China, getting them built cheaply, his share: about 4 cents a piece. They grabbed the rest. I thought he was going to go postal, fly to the company and open fire. They ended up dropping the idea completely. He lost about 10 grand through the process. Be very careful about sharing your ideas with the wrong people, there is a lot of money that can be made with the right ideas, but also a lot of sleaze looking to grab.

__________________
"When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not." - Mark Twain

I also have a friend that pattened(sp) something. It was fairly expensive and YES he used a patent attorney. This is what he has a pattent on.

Vince

OK, Vince, what is it?
In some of the packing sheds I used to work in, the guys that ran the box makers would have a hooked knife that slipped onto the finger like a ring. Don't scratch your nose! i wonder if liability laws can go after the patent holder.

__________________
"When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not." - Mark Twain

I would like to suggest you consider why you want to patent something, probably the best answer you could give is that you want to protect your right to produce and sell it. And in that case it would be prudent to consider the cost of hiring a patent attorney vs. the profit. And risk.

If you want to be able to produce something and use a patent so nobody else can, know that while it is in theory what a patent does, it won't. You would only be able to stop somebody else from making something which you patent through a long and costly legal process you probably can't afford unless you are a large enough company to have a legal department, and even then there are absolutely a million ways of getting around patents because to get them through, they are likely to be narrow enough that there is an alternate design to achieve the same ends or if the patent is broad it's probably going to be slower to approve or more likely to not be approved.

So, maybe you know that, and if you do and still want to figure out how to get a patent, I'd suggest looking up your state bar association as they usually provide referals to lawyers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinger

i wonder if liability laws can go after the patent holder.

Sure, nothing about patenting certifies anything about the effictiveness or safety of a design, but it does document who was involved with the design.

In 68 I and a Real R and D guy that had worked for 3 M were building boats.We came up with a couple real winners and ended up fighting with some big guys that had tons of Lawyers.Get a Patent attorney and hang on cause its a long ride and good luck.

I had a friend, many years ago, that patented some stuff and I remember him saying that a good patent attorney was a must. I don't know if things are the same as then but good luck and let us know what you find out. tanks for the Goober site watchit patent att 2,500 ...patent search first...myself?? how much can I do? I'm cheap phuk...

Edit: I found this Gooberment Site that has lots of "clickable" information links that you might want to take a look at.

tanks for goober site watchet...patent att. 2,500...need patent search first...can I do search my self? what else can I do myself? patent office only in D.C.? last winter in D.C. it was so cold the lawyers had thier hands in thier own pockets.

OK guys I want to sell the patent rights,not even try to produce it.I've made two prototypes,they work flawlessly.all my drawings are dated and notorized. I had to decide between 2% of something or 100% of nothing...I live all my life with nothing and i owe everything and who I am, to having nothing so to spite myself I chose 100% of nothing,now,five years later,and quite by accident I'm rethinking my thinking,I did some research back then and I found a pantent search is first...but if I hire an att.and its already got a patent ,its money wasted ..I'd like to do search myself,then hire att. but if i remember corectly the only patent office is in D.C. but I'm not sure.This is something everybody that has a trailer or camper must have it allows an old lady (tear drop camper club member) or female veternarian (horse trailer) or any one at all to connect a trailer by themselves very quickly an easily..then it does something really amazing ...it $$$^%^&&'s itself in the back yard or in a tight spot without being hooked to the $#@$%%^ Any ideas?

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